Boys and Girls
by potterfanxp123
Summary: Oneshot, not related to Something Simple. During Anne, Buffy was in L.A. What if, Clark, as Kal, was there too, and they'd met? Throw in a search for a missing kid, and suble KalBuffy flirting, and you have a good show. Does not end with a 'ship.


Girl's and Boy's: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Smallville Crossover

**DISCLAIMER: **_Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and _Smallville_ are not mine. I claim no stake in their production, and am only playing in their worlds.

**A/N: **_I wrote this fic around the same timeline, which means Season 3, Episode 1 for both shows. __Anne__ and __Exile__ respectively, because both premises were effectively the same. Hero killed someone close in Season finale, ran away and lived totally unique, but similar lives. Basically, I couldn't resist._

**Chapter One: Anne**

Buffy sighed, as she picked up the orders for table six, and lifted them over Betty's head. She hated her job, what her life had become in the weeks since she had been forced to kill Angel. But, this was her life now, and if there was anything that she was good at, it was forging ahead. She sighed, her thoughts captivated on Angel, as most of her thoughts had been recently. She could still feel his presence all around her, could still smell his unique and completely incredible scent.

Placing the plates in front of the two, obvious truck drivers, she sighed.

Bobby Ray and his brother Billy, had been coming here regularly in the weeks that she had started working here. Each day, she was forced to listen as they told exploits of their travels, obviously in an attempt to impress her. Not that she actually cared what the two overweight, middle-aged men thought of her, but even if she wasn't a Valley Girl at heart, there was no way.

She glanced at the clock, out of habit more than anything else, and sighed. She still had a couple of hours left to go.

The smack, had it been anyone else and she not been on the job, would have resulted in a serious ass kicking. Reigning in her temper, Buffy just glared, and walked up to her next customers. The couple, teens (one that looked seriously familiar now that she thought about it) were all over each other.

"What'll it be?" she asked, in an attempt to separate them and shoot down the errant thoughts their display produced.

The guy, obviously the leader in their little relationshp, if it could be called that, looked up and said, "how much will this buy."

A quick calculation of the money on the table, $3.57 to be exact, told her the answer to his question. "Not much, really."

"Can we have cake, Rickie?" the girl, who Buffy realized was the one that looked oddly familiar, asked. The boy looked at her like she was crazy, and said, "we have to eat healthy, Lily. We'll have pie, you do have pie right?"

Buffy did another quick calculation and smiled, pie was one of the few items they could actually afford. "We have peach pie, but I wouldn't count on actually having peaches inside."

As she wrote the order down, Buffy sighed and turned, as she heard the girl say, "hey, don't I know you?" She groaned, turning to shake her head as she walked back to the counter, handing the order card to Betty, who hadn't moved in the last ten minutes, and sighed.

Suddenly her "Slaydar" went off, her eyes instinctively travelling the minuscule distance from the counter to the front door, where a tall, black haired teen that had just entered.

She moved surreptiously across the room, handing Rickie the two slices of pie, slipping him a five to help pay for the piece she tacked onto their shared order and nudged her head. Notcing the relieved look on his face, Buffy smiled, and walked toward her newest intrigue, noticing Betty too was making her way toward him. _It figures_, she thought.

She reached him before the quinquagenarian could attempt to lay her claws in him, possibly saving her life now that she thought about it. Smiling widely in both praise at her saveage, Buffy grinned and said, "what'll it be?"

The teen, decked out in leather, sent serious vibes toward her Slayer senses. She had seen things that would make a normal person have nightmares. She had fought, and killed a Master vampire, two or three actually, but the man, **no** teen in front of her, no older than herself, sent serious chills down her spine.

OK, maybe it was time to find some Vamp's and dust them. She was seriously beginning to see evil _everywhere_.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, looking at the amusement sparkling in his eyes as she missed his entire order, his glowy-red eyes actually. _Alright_, seriously, why did all good-looking guys have to be demons?

"I said, I'll take a burger with everything on it, two large fries, and a chocolate shake."

"Right, I totally just spaced." Buffy said, her mind racing. The teen smirked, as if amused by the total fact that she had. Maybe that was his evil demony power? The swoony type of power that makes girls all forgetful, and spacey?

Walking away with the order slip, Buffy glared at the clock on the wall, at this rate, she'll be stuck after the evil, demony type gets bored with his food and goes after a human.

She hated this job. Why did she stay again?

She handed the slip to Betty as she reached the counter, a sigh filling her for the first time that day. Betty, who glared at her, primped her hands to her side as if demanding an answer from an errant child. "What was that?"

Buffy looked at her confused, the woman staring a hole through her head as if trying to empath the answers from her. "What was what?"

"You know, that whole "sauntering" thing you had going on, _Anne_! I thought I told you the young men were off limits? I know what you young rascals get up to these days?"

Sauntering? Who the hell used _Sauntering_, note the capital letter, in a sentence. Buffy glared, as unshed tears formed at the corner of her eyes. Oh yeah, that's all Betty was mad about. _Must resist the temptation to allow demon an early, last meal, must resist_.

"I wasn't _sauntering!_!" she hissed underneath her breath. "If anything I was ambulating, and that isn't even close to what you're suggesting. Why do you care, anyway?"

The older woman glared, her eyes holding the contempt that Buffy had felt for herself since she had left Sunnydale. As Mitch handed her the laden plate, she shot the older man a look of pure thanks, and turned, instinctively jumping the foot the older woman had stuck in front of her, and walked over to the table, to the cheers of her customers.

The demon was still looking at her with amusement written across his ugly, glowy face. He was staring at her, hungrily if she hadn't missed her mark, and his look told her everything she needed to know about him. One, he was dirt, and two, he was _dead_ dirt when she was done pulverizing him.

She turned, her backside to him, _daring_ him to do as Bobby Ray had done earlier, just to have an excuse to "take it outside". To her surprise, he didn't. Instead, he bent down and, if her ears weren't deceiving her, started eating.

With a self-satisfied smirk on her face, one plastered on to add to the hostility and hatred she had for the older woman, Buffy walked over to the counter and said, "thanks, Mitch."

She looked to the clock, boredom etched across her face, as she realized only fifteen minutes had passed since the entire scenario began. She groaned, wishing for one of Will's witchy spells, wondering for the briefest of moments, how her auburn haired bff was.

The bell chimed, and Buffy turned, groaning. Luckily, her break had just began, and as she sat, she smiled at Betty, who glared at the irritating customer, her eyes alit with fire.

Sometimes, it was good to be her.

Smiling at Mitch, who was chuckling at the bosses' wife's dilemna, Buffy sent a look that said, "told you so."

She laid her head down, closing her eyes for a power nap, hoping that the time would at least slow down so she could refresh herself.

Truth be told, she could only be so lucky.

Later

She was shaken awake, glancing at the clock in instinct, and noticed that she felt better. Her break had just ended, and Betty was looking at her dirtily again. She would have wondered, had she not noticed the scrunched up look of her uniform's bottom, and the glare she was sending at the 'most noble and honored mayor', a sleeze that only came here to harass and intimidate them.

Buffy groaned, her eyes searching Mr. glowy-eyes, noticing him still sitting at the seat closest to the exit, his eyes searching. She sent a look to Betty, the supposed hero in her wanting to make it known that such behavior, even to one she held in such dismay, was not acceptable. She shook her head, her eyes hardening as she took the food Mitch had just handed the woman, the mayor's regular, and she walked over, her posture set to intimidate even the roughest of demons.

She saw it worked, as it had caught glowy's eye. She straightened her back, and walked over to the sleeze's table, where she slammed the plate in front of him, miraculously not spilling a drop of food nor coffee and said, "will there be anything else, Mr. Mayor?"

The hardness in her voice was easily visible to anyone in the vacinity, as seen when the man's eyes widened and he gulped audibly. Buffy sized him up with a glare that would make a vampire shit his pants, and said, "no? Well, I'm sure you have to get back to that office, sir. So, I'll just leave you alone."

The man, if it could be called that, nodded and Buffy turned, her eyes meeting the mirth-filled gaze that had so irritated her since he came in, and that of her immediate superiors. The woman, instead of contempt, actually seemed relieved and thankful. Buffy sighed, walking over, her mind calculating the tip she was sure he was going to leave to ensure her wrath was placated. She'd _have_ to share out of a sense of honor, but who cares?

She swept her gaze over the crowd, Rickie and his love-boat were still their booth, making out and eating their pie in between pies. Bobby Ray and Billy were hustling to finish, as if they realized her speech was as much for them as the Mayor, a few other loyal customers were chatting with friends, and glowy, glowy was motioning for her.

She sighed, her hand instinctively grabbing the receipt booklet, as the man was grasping his now empty glass. He smiled, almost invitingly as she neared him, as if her impromptu show hadn't scared him off, and he said, "two more shakes, if you don't mind."

She nodded, stiffly realizing that, upon her return, she'd be invited to 'sleep with the enemy' as the saying goes. She was half tempted to pass off to Betty, to give the smug looking evil a taste of it's own medicine, but then that'd be of the bad, especially if his appitite included something more than chocolate. She grabbed the now empty glass, and walked away, placing it in the dishwater at her left, before grabbing two clean ones and placing them under the shake machine.

She could feel the penetrating gazes on her back, could feel each and every movement they made, as her progress was followed. And why not, this had _never_ happened to her before. Most men were intimidated by her, after she had used "the glare".

Sadly, she couldn't refuse, it was all part of the "waitress" job description. Take their orders, make small talk, sit if asked, but never, under any circumstances, let it interfere with her job performance.

"I _hate_ this job," she muttered. Placing the two shakes in front glowy, as she had come to call the large, well-built demon, Buffy smiled and turned, when he said, "please, I'm sure you realized as soon as I ordered two shakes, that one was for you. Sit."

_Cocky too,_ Buffy groaned, pulling the chair out, wincing as it scraped against the floor. Glowy smirked at her as she sat, her eyes staring a whole through his evil, demony head. His, admittedly cute, demony head. _Cut those thoughts, Buffster_ she told herself.

"So," she asked, sipping the chocolate shake, her surprise at evident at how well it actually tasted. "What'd you need me for?"

Glowy smiled, and she felt herself **swoon** at him again! _So that __**is**__ his power, Ha!_

"Can't I just request the company of a beautiful woman to help me enjoy my last meal here, in LA?"

She narrowed her eyes, as she felt the breathing level in the room drop, as her customers waited on baited breath. "After all," he continued, "not just any woman has the natural grace, as well as the hidden _strength_ in them to be as... intimidatingly beautiful as you are."

She tensed, her eyes looking at his oddly purple ones. _So, he knows and he wants a piece?_ she thought.

"As nauseatingly sweet as that sounded, bud, I know a play when I hear it."

The gasp that filled the room told her, and glowy as well, that this wasn't the answer they anticipated. She smiled, thinking that was the end of it, when a raccous laughter filled the room. She turned, surprise etched on her face, as glowy stood and said, "nauseatingly sweet? Damn, you sound like Lex on one of his bad days."

Alright, she was definately curious now. Lex? Who the hell would _willingly_ not only name their son **Lex**, but let glowy around them? She sat back down, and turned, her eyes hardening.

"Why's that?" she asked, feigning interest. Glowy simply kept on smirking, as he shrugged. "I don't know, must have been his refined upbringing? Personally, he doesn't have much going for him at the moment, considering he's 'missing, presumed dead.'"

Her eyes narrowed. The bastard's as easily admitting to her that he _killed_ Lex Luthor, for that was the only person it could be. God, the cocky idiot. Now she'd have to face him.

"Oh, so you knew him? Lex Luthor I mean?"

The teen looked startled, and shrugged. "Yeah, save the guy's life and you become a permanent fixture it seems. Anyway, enough about him, beautiful. I have tickets to see _Five For Fighting_ tonight and need a date. You're the most interesting woman, hell person, I've seen since I came to this drag-assed city, interested?"

So, that was his plan? Make an appointment, then do the fighting. Too bad the restaurant was waiting on baited breath for her every word, or she'd have just asked him to 'take it outside' by now. Putting on her best fake smile, Buffy said, "yeah," though every single fibre of her being was against it.

The teen stood and said, "well _Anne_", looking at her tag, though she was oftly certain he was scoping her chest as well, "I'll pick you up tonight? Eight, you may want to wear leather."

She scoffed, thinking it was some perverse desire to, "kill the Slayer", but simply nodded. He stood, walking to the counter and handing them two twenties, and walked toward the door. She was surprised, though, as glowy bent and placed a stack of twenties on the table. "Keep the change."

As he walked out the door, she watched, surprised that he moved about the human's so easily, and to a motorcycle. The twittering behind her drew her attention, as whistles and cheers followed her progress toward the back, the fresh stack of twenty-dollar bills now in her pocket. She smirked at Betty, who was looking at her, mouth agape, and said, "you can have _His Honours_ tip."

The woman glared, while Mitch simply looked smug.

The day after glowy's abrupt visit passed normally, except for the occassional straggler, and more than one attempt at _girltalk_ with what's-her-name? Lily? Yeah, that sounded right.

Of course, on the whole, she'd made over three hundred in tips alone, and since Betty was the only other one on duty, that meant that she'd grossed over half the profit today. She glanced at the clock as she was leaving, noticing that both Mitch and Betty were waiting for her to leave. She crossed her eyes, mentally noting the fact that she had more than a few hours to wait until tonight.

And her fight. Just the thought sent shivers up her spine. She closed the door behind her, walking down the street, and to her single-room apartment with kitchen and bathroom. She looked at the walls, the pale, pasty walls that she had supported herself, purchased herself. It wasn't the best, but it was better in Sunnydale, where the eyes and the staring followed her.

She reached into her closet, filling the tub with hot water, as she dropped the waitress uniform that she'd been wearing for eight hours straight, onto the floor. She sighed, stepping into the steaming hot water, her joints tightening than loosening as the tension wore away.

Sighing again, she slipped off to sleep, making sure her internal clock was set to at least five-thirty, her slayer balance making sure she didn't slip into the tub.

Her 'slaydar' woke her later, as she sprung out of the tub, and wrapped the closest towel around her. Her eyes were barely open, as she walked to the door, and yanked it open, surprised at the black cladden image that stood there.

Glowy, smirk adorning his face, looked at his wrist-watch and said, "It's eight, and you're not ready. Of course, if you wanted to wear that, I wouldn't mind."

Buffy glared, a small blush adorning her face as she forgot for the smallest moment where she was. The calling she'd been ignoring had woke her from her Angel-dream, his arms had been wrapped around her at the beach, the sun just setting, or maybe rising, off the coast as he attempted to assure her that his death wasn't her fault. That, as the Slayer, she had to make the choices she did.

She was confused, disoriented, when she woke. The entire scene, which happened more often than she'd like to think, had confused her. Glowy, smirking as his eyes scanned her body, waited in her door, his large frame blocking her only exit. She glared, her finger pointing, and watched as glowy lifted his hands, and backed away, a smirk on his face.

Even when the black-clad demon was gone did she feel his eyes on her. She shuddered, dressing in her Slayer outfit, consisting of a black shirt, black leather jacket, and black leather jeans, with, of course, black socks and leather boots. Her hair was tied up, as she opened the door.

Glowy was leaning against the opposite wall, his arms folded as he waited for her, his odd, red ring glistening in the hallway light. Her face formed a frown, as she realized that this piece of jewelry hadn't been seen earlier. She snapped her eyes to his face, and trailed his body, mentally making a note of where hidden weapons could be stored.

Or, at least she told herself. She walked over to glowy, who pushed himself off the wall, his shoulders making a slight indentation that she just knew she was going to be blamed for.

"Shall we?" he asked demurely, as if her embarassment was amusing to him. Buffy grinned, grabbing his arm and wrapping her grip around it. She squeezed, groaning in frustration as she realized that it was gonna be one of those type fights.

"Let's," she said, hiding the fact that she knew exactly was going to take place.

"By the way," the teen muttered. _Here it comes, the whole, "time to die, Slayer", part._ "I'm Kal."

Her head whipped around, her eyes scanning his as she watched them do the odd glowing thing. She gasped, her hand gripping his, where the oddly colored ring flashed in her mind.

"Kal, huh? What's a guy like you doing all the way here, in L.A?"

Kal stopped, scanning her face, and she was sure this time there wasn't an undertone in his gaze. "Just passing through. Running from a past I'd rather forget about."

Her body froze, as she looked him over. How? How in the _hell_ had he echoed her situation, word-for-word?

"Sounds tough, Kal."

Kal smirked again, "you tell me. It's your eyes, they tell your life story."

Buffy huffed, her hand instinctively gripping his. She waited, hoping for the tell-tale signs of his bones breaking, to get this fight over with. She knew his plan, lure him into a false sense of security, and then kill her when she wasn't looking.

There, a pop! Yes, she'd done it. Kal looked at his awkwardly bent finger and said, "seems I underestimated the value of your strength, earlier, Anne."

"Yeah," she said, "whaddya think about that?"

Kal shrugged, his fist gripping his middle finger, and pulling. She winced.

"Nothing, now come on, _Five For Fighting_ waits for no man."

As they climbed onto the back of the motorcycle, Buffy couldn't help but wonder if she'd got it all wrong.

The concert was in full swing. Five for Fighting, led by the All American Rejects, had finally made it onto stage, after a roaring round of applause for the newest hit, "It End's Tonight".

The crowd was hoping along to the various beats, rhythms and rhymes of the songs being sung, and yet Buffy wasn't having that good of a time. Her mind, riddled with the thoughts of Kal's abrupt, mysterious behavior, had frozen her.

As their newest hit, "100 Years to Live" was strung, her eyes lit up. The words, covering her through the thoughts they provoked more than the meaning behind them, touched her core as tears escaped from her eyes. Kal, caught in the same sence of elation she was, had barely touched her, when her eyes snapped open and she pulled him down, where other couples were dancing and enjoying themselves.

If he wanted to kill her, that could wait until after the concert was over, as far as she was concerned. Kal, she noticed, was smiling, not smirking as was his usual stance. She was surprised that he actually seemed to enjoy human music.

Usually they were all, "hum la la, bah lum ha" in their deep, baritone voices.

_Focus Buffy_, she admonished. "So, Kal, where you from?"

"Like I said, someplace I'd rather forget. Let's just say, something I caused, caused someone close to die."

Buffy winced. He sounded remorseful, resigned.

"I'm guessing your name really isn't Kal, then?"

Kal looked at her. "It is, just not one people would associate with me on a regular basis."

Buffy's sad smile startled him. "You too, huh?"

Her eyes shot to his, and she nodded. Then, she gripped his hand and said, "I'm guessing you really aren't here to fight and kill me, are you?"

Kal let out a bark of a laugh, and said, "where'd you hear that shit?"

She looked at him funnily and said, "second sense, really. Usually, in my experience, good-looking means bad-ass."

As she blushed at the double entendre that her words caused, Buffy tried to retort, "what I mean..."

Kal was simply laughing. She punched him in the arm, hard, surprised that her hand simply stayed there. He hadn't moved a muscle.

They left, after the last sound reverbed off the walls, the concert finally over.

"Kal, can you drop me off about a block from my apartment. I need time to think."

Kal simply nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, and one wild ride, Buffy smiled and said, "Will I see you around?"

Kal simply smirked at her, as he signalled for her to keep the helmet. She shrugged, as he kicked the engine, and roared off, a trail of dust behind him.

She watched him for a few minutes, her feet kicking rocks along the concrete, as she slunked away from the corner she'd been dropped off at. Her thoughts were a swirl, each of them indicative of her predicament. Kal was fun, he had something hidden inside of him, of course, but once you got past the arrogant, full of bullshit exterior, he was down to earth.

He smelled, no how hard he tried to cover it with Old Spice, of the earth, and animals. So, she figured, that he must be from a farming community, somewhere in Arkansas.

She frowned, her thoughts travelling to Angel, and how he'd feel about her betraying him like she did. He'd probably hate her, which he should, if she were honest with herself. She had just gone on a date, after all.

"Anne," a voice called behind her. Angel, she was sure, was extremely disappointed in her. She'd sent him to a hell-dimension after all. God, she felt like a tramp. She wasn't supposed to have fun, she was supposed to stay miserable, like Angel did.

He was being tortured. "Anne!"

Her eyes moved around, looking for Anne, and any sign of trouble. The girl was still looking for her friend, and as it wasn't a voice she recognized, she knew it wasn't her.

"Buffy!" Okay, then again.

She stopped, watching as a familiar face looked back at her. Her face scrunched up as she struggled to remember where she'd seen the girl before.

Lily nodded. "Don't be mad, I won't turn you in or anything. I guess you don't recognize me."

"Lily?"

Lily nodded. "I mean from before, I was calling myself Chantarelle. I used to... well I was in this cult that worshiped Vampires. So lame, I know."

Buffy could only nod in agreement. "You kind of saved us, I don't think I ever thanked you for that."

"Did you tell anyone who I was?"

Lily shook her head, "Oh no, not even Rickie! I mean, I was surprised to see you waiting tables, of course. But, I know how it is when you've got to get lost."

"You live nearby?" Buffy asked, as she kept going down the street, her pace picking up as she unconsciously tried getting away from the girl, so she could fall asleep.

Lily had caught up, breathing heavily and said, "well, there's a couple places near, abandoned. Lots of people stay there. So, how'd you come up with Anne?"

Buffy said, "it's my middle name."

"Oh, Lily's from a song. Rickie picked it, I'm always changing anyways. Chantarelle was my exotic phase."

Buffy frowned, "it's nice. It's a mushroom!"

Lily blushed and Buffy said, "Oh, it's an exotic mushroom of course. If that's any comfort."

"Well, it's better than Sister Sunshine, that was part of my loser preacher phase."

Buffy wondered if that had a point, as she asked, "what do they call you at home?"

Lily doesn't respond and Buffy realizes that she crossed a line. "I like Lily."

"So," Lily begins, "How was your date?"

_Ah, so that was her point_ Buffy thought, dejected. Lily smiled. "It was... nice."

"Oh, that's good, cause the whole restaurant is gonna grill you tomorrow on it. Um, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to a rave, but you're tired, huh?"

Buffy nodded. Lily smiled and said, "well, here's my stop, Buffy."

As they were about to separate, a homeless man shoved Lily to the side, and walked on. Lily looked at him in surprise as Buffy said, "are you alright?"

The man stopped, pain etched on his face. "I'm no one."

As he turned, Buffy wondered if he was delusional. She gripped Lily's hand and said, "Hey, Lily. Would it be bad if I offered you this?"

In her hand, five twenty dollar bills. Lily looked, her hand itching forward to take it, until she snatched it back, as if she were burnt. Buffy sighed. "That line again, huh?"

"Yeah, it's alright, thanks anyway. Bye."

"Bye."

As he head hit the pillow minutes later, Buffy couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

The Next Morning - Mitch's Diner

Buffy sighed, her 'slaydar' picking up his entrance as soon as he came in. He had a boom-box on his shoulder, playing, "Boys and Girls", to the ire of her immediate supervisor. Not that it was a bad song, just it seems like Kal has a bad streak in him.

"Turn that blast... oh it's you." Betty said, her hands reaching to touch up against him. Kal glared at her, his eyes searching out Buffy, as he laid his box on the same table he'd sat at yesterday, and motioned for her to come over. She nodded, looking at Mitch, who motioned her away with a slightly greasy spatula.

Betty was quivering with fear, she could tell as a chuckle filled her throat. "You've got to stop scaring people, Kal, it's unseemly."

Kal snorted, his eyes fresh with the same glow that she'd found so mesmerizing yesterday. "I don't like quinquagenarians touching me."

Buffy repressed a snort this time, the statement drawing confusion from a proportion of the populace. She pointed out a few of the generation in the restaurant and Kal mumbled, "Fine, I don't want a _certain_ damned one touching me."

A few of them twitterd in laughter as Betty glared at the duo, as Kal said, "same as yesterday, if you don't mind, Anne. Make it two, and we'll share lunch."

She glanced at the wall, surprise etched on her face as she realized it _was_ her lunch break. She glanced at him, as a smirk covered his face. "Alright."

She pulled the order slips from her apron, and walked over, handing them to Mitch, who was smiling at her good fortune. Betty was openly glaring now, her hand gripping Buffy's arm, as her nails dug into her skin. Buffy was half-tempted to snap her fingers, but knew that would definately be of the bad.

Mitch handed her the food a few minutes later, two chocolate shakes swaying evilly on the tray. On the other hand, she hadn't dodged Betty's foot, which struck out at the last moment, and started falling. A gasp of horror followed her descent to the ground, as the tray was suddenly gripped, and an arm came around her.

She swiveled, her hand coming up to smash the bosses wife in the nose, as a strong grip caught her wrist.

"She's not worth it, Anne. Believe me when I say that, if you do like you want, you _could_ kill her."

"How do you know that?" she asked, her eyes widening in disbelief. Kal just smirked.

"Personally, I'd rather watch you get down and dirty, smothered in something chocolatey, but..." and he trailed off, leaving a room full of gaping people in suspence.

Buffy took his tray and shook her head, "did I just rid you of that damned ego?"

"What? What ego, I'm all confident."

Buffy glared at the large teen, her eyes narrowing in suspension as she looked at his strong hands. She turned to Betty, having set the tray down on the table and said, "you should be ashamed of yourself. You're a _married woman_. You don't have the right to go around to men half your age, or **younger**, trying to get in their pants."

A smothered laugh came from near the door, her hearing picking it up throught he hands that had wrapped in front of her supposed friends, formerly thought-of demons, face.

"Well, I never," the woman muttered. Buffy just turned, smiling wickedly at Kal, who simply said, "amazing, Anne. Absolutely amazing."

Her lunch had lasted just under the stated thirty minutes, when Buffy picked up the two trays, surprised at how fresh-tasting the food was.

She couldn't eat it everyday, of course, but what was so bad about it?

She walked to the counter, where Betty's replacement for the day had come in, a blond girl she liked to call, "Sally" because of the girls fixation with day-time talk shows, was gazing at Kal's shapen body and said, "I know."

Sally blushed, her voice coming out in a squeak, when the door chimed. Sally looked at Buffy, who nodded and turned, her surprise etched on her face, at Lily's disheveled, disoriented face.

"Anne, have you seen Rickie?" the girl asked, as Buffy looked at her in pity. She had really thought Rickie was good for the young, wandering girl. And that tattoo, she'd never get that covered over.

"No, I haven't seen him, isn't he with you?" _Good Buffy, keep her guessing._

"No, he didn't come home last night." she said, worry in her voice. Buffy looked over, noticing that Kal had left upon her entrance, a stack of twenties in his place. She walked over, grabbing them. She began wiping the table, finding a note and stuffing it in her pocket. She walked to Mitch, as Lily's voice said, "he wasn't at any of our usual spots. This isn't like him!"

Buffy looked up, concern once again showing on her face. "Did you go to the police?"

The girl looked at her incredulously, and Buffy blushed. Of course she didn't, she's on the run. "Sorry, stupid question."

She walked to the register, calculating the meal price in her head, and slipping two twenties in like yesterday. "... worried about him."

"Hey Sally, somethings come up. Can you cover the last thirty minutes for me?"

Sally nodded, waving her hand and saying, "go."

"Alright, where do we start first?"

They had walked to the blood bank, of all places. Type O-neg could be smelled, if you had the nose for it, from the waiting room and, curiously enough, the atmosphere was one that she'd not understood.

The woman there, as creepy as it sounded, gave off serious vibes. And, yet, they hadn't even began the questions!

"Have you seen Rickie?" the girl asked, her voice pleading. Buffy looked at the woman, her eyes trained on her neck. She placed her hand to her temple, and beat it against, keeping a steady count.

"No," she said, her voice steady, her pulse staying at the same moderate level. So, she was either telling the truth, or she was so good at lying, that she could fool even the Slayer. "Has he come in for his scheduled donation?" the blond asked. The woman stared at her, and replied snottily, "I'm not at liberty to release patient information."

Buffy glanced at Lily, who said, "I'm his _fiance!_" The woman, Buffy noticed, was decidely uncomfortable.

"I'm not at liberty..." she again began. Buffy simply grabbed her, what? Friend?, friend's arm and said, "we'll come back later."

As they exited the building, Buffy said, "alright, listen Lily. I need you to meet me later, I'm going to go looked for Rickie. I'm sure he's alright, so just chill, kay?"

Lily nodded, her heart racing as Buffy said, "meet me at my apartment. Here's the key, lock the door when you get in."

As Lily turned, Buffy sighed and walked off. She wondered why Rickie left, he hadn't had anything to lose, as a matter of fact, if anything, the younger kid could have made his relationship work.

She walked around the darkest alleys of Los Angeles, her mind wondering from the look of the older, homeless generation. Her mind was scattered as she realized with apparent horror, that these people were as old as her grandparents, and yet they were all left desolate, rungs on the lowest ladder of society.

Her eyes landed on a particular man, his eyes staring at her in wonder, appreciation. She looked, where he was tapping his arm repeatedly, and bent down, looking for some indication of what the man was trying to say.

Her eyes widened in horror at the sight before her. Rickie's tattoo! How the hell? He went from sixteen to eighty in less than a day? As the man's eyes closed for the last time, Buffy closed her eyes and said, "I'll make sure you're remembered, Rickie."

The next day, Buffy called in saying that a sudden cold had attacked her. She wasn't to happy about ditching work, but something of this caliber was seriously wiggy, and so her Slayer-side said, "na-uh!"

She met Lily outside of her apartment, the girl had obviously been crying all night, and Buffy wouldn't be surprised if she hated her. She wondered for the briefest of moments whether or not the girl would forgive her for having to reveal such horrible information, but that was the price of do-gooding.

She walked out of the small, run-down apartment building, a huge relief flowing off of her chest. She caught sight of Lily, who was standing, talking to that Ken guy from the other day. The man had approached her, about coming home to "Family Home". She ran up to the two, sadly smiling at the girl, who sent a glare her way.

Ken walked away, sending the girl a look that Buffy wasn't sure she read correctly. As the duo of girls walked down the street, Buffy said, "what was that about?"

Lily looked at her in confusion, but said, "oh, nothing. I'm just tired. I was up all night crying. Do you think I could stay at your place?"

Buffy nodded. "Sure, the doors unlocked. Just tell Bruno that I'm a friend, and that your fiance was kidnapped. He'll understand."

Lily smiled at her, and Buffy sighed. As she rounded the corner, Buffy said to herself, "alright, blood bank, let's see what you're hiding."

**Kal**

Kal walked into the diner, his eyes sweeping across the mass of people enjoying the food. The old bitch, as he had come to call the annoying _human_ was standing at the counter with the blond haired bombshell he had been introduced to yesterday.

Of course, as far as he was concerned, the only _human_ worth his time was the elusive _Anne_, because there was a hidden strength behind her persona he found intriguing.

He sat at his usual table, his eyes glaring at the offending presence of the quinquagenarian that dared try _flirting_ with him, as she approached. Where was _Anne?_

"Hey handsome?" the woman said, in what Kal assumed was supposed to be a saucy voice. Resisting the urge to vomit, Kal said, "what the hell do you want?"

Old bitch gasped at him, as the room went quiet. He looked around, noticing with amusement that the crowd was the same as yesterday. Anne certainly was a popular one, he figured. It couldn't be the food.

"Is that any way to talk to a woman?" the bitch asked, in what Kal hoped wasn't her attempt to be sexy. The sight made him fell extremely ill. Like Kryptonite.

"No, that's the way I talk to horse-faced bitches that want to screw anything on two wheels."

The woman blushed. "Buh-bye," Kal said testily, as the woman scampered off in a huff. The blond bombshell, as if waiting for that moment, said, "You must be Kal! Hi, I'm Sally!"

Kal stared at her, his amusement far more noticible. He looked around, frowning, as he wondered where Anne had been.

"Where's Anne?"

"Oh, she called in sick. I think it's more along the lines of what happened with that girl yesterday. Her boyfriend was missing or something, and Anne can't but want to help Charity Cases."

The way she'd said charity cases, made Kal assume this was the elusive Lily he'd seen talking to Anne the first day he came in. What was it that drew him to the blue eyes _babe_?"

"I'll take my usual, a burger, fries and a chocolatle shake."

The woman nodded and Kal, thumbing the fresh roll of bills heisted just this morning from an ATM in Metropolis, smirked in amusement. There was no way these people would realize that Kal was the "Masked Bandit" running amok in the largest, "most modern city in the world."

As the woman brought back his order, Kal ate hurriedly, not wanting to waste his time. The farmboy sensed something was wrong, a fact that he'd come to call his seventh sense, said that it was _Anne._

He walked to the counter, giving his customary forty, and placing three twenties on the table, it wouldn't be good if Anne showed up, and someone said he acted different cause she wasn't around. That'd ruin the plan.

There was no _way-in-hell_ his planning wasn't coming to fruition.

He was being paid too much money.

For Kal, it was all about the money.

He walked out, eyeing the curly blond hair of that poor excuse of a human, Lily, walking with a guy that, as far as Kal was concerned, wasn't real. Curiousity getting the better of him, Kal ran across the street, darting between cars, and enhancing his vision where he could follow every little twitch of their movement.

They turned up ahead, and Kal followed them with his eyes. They turned into a dorm-room, where the man started moving his mouth. He focused his ears, and listed to the man say, "yeah, Rickie is alright, Lily. We'll take you to where he is, but you have to go through the ritual of cleansing first. It's tradition, and Rickie did it first."

Kal wasn't stupid, he'd seen the corpse what carried the weird tattoo that Buffy had pointed out to Lily the other day. She seemed sure it was him, and his _employers_ said that she was certainly more intuitive than most.

Honestly, killing the blond haired powerhouse seemed a lot more daunting to the over-powered teen.

"Quit it Kent," the man hissed to himself, his red eyes flashing blue for the smallest of minutes. Quickly reasserting control, Kal smirked.

He walked inside, deciding that, if he were going to investigate this odd occurance, me might as well play the part. After all, Kal certainly was good at _acting_.

**Anne**

She scurried around the office of that creepily familiar woman's office, her eyes darting over the names of the occursed faster than anything. Lily had told her Rickie's last name, Hendricks, and how they gave blood every two weeks. She found his file, and smiled. Pulling it out of the broken filing cabinet, Buffy took it over to a desk, her face frowning in confusion.

"What do you think you're doing?" the shrill voice of Buffy's eternal torment called to her. The nurse from yesterday was standing there, her eyes darting around the room.

"Oh nothing. Breaking into your office and going through your private files." As she looks at another file, Lily's, she says, "Candidate for what?"

The woman, her voice filled with panic, walks over to the phone hanging on the wall. "I'm calling the police," she states. Buffy glares at her, who smiles and touches the phone as she picks up the receiver, and rips it off the wall. It smashes on the table.

"Now, you've got a whole bunch of candidates here, I wonder if any of them are missing? Like Rickie." Sarcastically, Buffy sais, "gosh, I bet they are!"

"You're getting yourself into trouble," the woman says pleadingly. Buffy frowns, her eyes searching the woman, wondering if the overweight witch was seriously saying that to her.

"I don't want any trouble," she began, noticing the look in the woman's eyes, like she thought the Slayer was conceding.

"I just want to be left alone in a quiet room with a chair, and a fireplace, and a tea cozy. I don't even know what a tea cozy is, but I want one. **Instead**," Buffy said testily, "I keep getting into trouble, which, I'm completely willing to share. **What are you doing to these kids?**"

"N-n-nothing," the woman stuttered, "I j-just give him the names of the h-healthy ones."

Buffy's eyes narrowed as she said warningly, "give them to _who?_

**Family Home**

Ken looked at the two desolate run-aways, the tall male, and the short female both wearing robes that reach down to their knees. He eyed them, his eyes narrowing as he said, "I thought you were instructed to shed all remberances to your past, Kal?"

Kal looked at his ring, and wondered briefly what boy wonder would do in this situation. He didn't have a chance to respond, as Ken reached forward, grasping his ring and snatching it off his finger. Kal fell to his knees, his eyes flashing red for a moment, before his eyes darted around.

The blue eyed teen stood, memories of what was happening rushing back to him as he stared Ken in the eyes.

"Well, don't the two of you look nice. Are you both prepared for your cleansings?"

Kal, he noticed, was looking intrigued, as Lily looked at the awkward water in front of her nervously.

"A cleasing is like a baptism," Lily asked. The man smiled, "not quite the same."

Ken watched Kal frown, and wondered what was going on in his head. "Will I see Rickie after?" she asked, hope in her voice.

"Oh of course," the man said, watching as Kal looked at him in disbelief. "He's waiting for you, he's _very_ excited. Now listen, the ritual of cleansing is about to begin."

Ken nodded to one of his "deacon's", and said, "we come to this station to wash away the past. Go ahead," he said, gestering to lower to the ground. "Kneel."

"We let the water run over the sins and the pain and the uncertainty."

"It looks kinda, dirty," the girl said. Ken smirked. "Yeah."

Outside, Clark's hearing perked. Anne was here, finally he could get some answers.

"You know," she was saying, "I just woke up and I looked in my mirror, and I thought, 'hey, what's with all the sin? I need to change, I'm, I'm dirty. I'm bad with the sex and the... envy and that loud, loud music us kids listen to now-a-days."

He snorted, as a hand rose out of the liquid. His eyes widened as it caught onto his face, and pulled him toward the bubbling liquid, he could hear Lily's scream, as she came through, and instinctively caught her.

The room they were lead into looked like a modern day version of hell, and Clark wondered briefly if his powers were gone. He focused on one of the barrels shooting fire, focused and watched as a burst of flame shot up as his beam of light hit it.

"Don't worry, Lily," his voice carried to her. She was in shock, he noticed, as they were surrounded by freaky looking, tall guys with swords that looked at Bat'leth from Star Trek.

They were surprised, what felt like seconds later, when Anne fell through. She stood lightly, gingerly.

"So, now's not the best time to say, "hi," is it?" Clark asked. She looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. "Kal, where's your ring?"

Kal winced. "Name's Clark, actually."

She frowned.

They were lead to the lower level, where teens in various states were standing there, looking at the demons that looked like lower levels of Satan himself. Buffy was murmuring to Lily not to be afraid, her eyes darting toward Clark every few minutes. He wondered if she distrusted him, or maybe thought that he was in on this.

They were led to a line, where Ken was pulling off his human looking face, and suddenly, it all fit. She glared at Clark, who just shook his head and pulled a few strands of his hair out. She frowned.

"Welcome to my world," Ken stated sadistically, "you're _never_ leaving."

As the but of a sword hit him in the head, Clark fell forward, acting like he was knocked out.

He stirred when he felt Buffy awakening, figuring that pretending to be out cold was as boring as watching grass grow, a disfavorite past-time of his growing up in Kansas. He sat up, as Buffy grabbed her head and said, "Ugh, Lily? Where are we?"

"Hell," the simple answer stirred in the room. Clark watched Anne look around and said, "this isn't hell."

"Isn't it?" Ken asked. He threw Kal's ring at her and said, "what is Hell but the absense of hope?"

She looked at the familiar looking ring, as sudden familiarity caught up with her. She looked at the taller teen, eyeing the rock wearily, and said, "thanks," and tossed it to him. He caught the metal part and placed it in his pocket.

"The substance, the tactile proof of despair?" Ken continued on his monologue. "You're right Lily, this is where you've been heading all your life, just like Rickie."

"Rickie?" she asked hopefully.

"He forgot you. It took him a long time. He remembered your name a few years after he'd forgotten his own. But, in the end..." he trailed off.

"Years? But?" she asked. The man smirked. Oh, uh, interesting thing. Time moves more quickly here than in your reality. A hundred long years will pass here, on Earth? Just a day."

Sudden dawning passed through Buffy's eyes as Clark eyed the place wearily. Something about it seemed familiar to him, his eyes darting and catching everything. A memory, long forgotten, echoed in his mind.

"The phantom zone," his eyes widened, as he said, "this place is just like it."

"So," Buffy continued, after glancing at Clark. "you just work us till we're too old and spit us back out?"

"That's the plan" the man confirmed. "See Lily, you'll die of old age before anyone wonders where you went. Not that anyone will, that's why we _chose_ you."

"You didn't choose me," both Clark and Buffy said. They snapped their gazes to each other. "NO, but I know you Anne, Kal. So afraid, so pathetically determined to run away from wherever, whatever it is you used to be." Kal looks away, shame on his face. "Congratulations," he said staring at Buffy, "you got your wish."

A few minutes later, the three teens were being chaperoned toward the elevators that led down to the mining shaft. She noticed Clark's eyes darting to the left and right, outside a desolate sun was shining inside the room.

They were placed in a line group with seven other kids, Clark on Buffy's left, Lily on her right. They caught eyes for a moment as one of the guards said, "you work and you live. That is all. You do not complain. You do not laugh. Or anything else besides your work. Whatever you thought, whatever you were, does not matter. You are no one, you mean nothing."

A hand on his wrist caught his attention as Buffy shook her head. He glared at the offending guard. "If you can here me," he said under his breath, "if you have a plan, squeeze my wrist. I'll take your cue."

She squeezed his wrist.

The guard, by this time had walked to a young man. "Who are you," the man asked. The boy stuttered his answer, "Aaron."

The trio winced as he fell, the guard having clubbed him in the head. Another girl was next.

"Who are you?"

"No one?" she asked. The demon nodded, asking the next girl in line, who gave the familiar answer.

Lily was next. "Who are you?"

Lily's face seemed downtrodden, as she stared at the tattoo on her arm. "No one," she said, forelornly. Clark's gaze softened, as the demon stood before Buffy. She raised her head defiantly. "Who are you?"

Her words made his heart soar. "I'm Buffy, the **Vampire Slayer**, and you are?"

The now groan crowd of demons scattered, a gasp running through as Buffy attacked one of them and grabbed the sword he was holding. She threw it at Clark, who grabbed it and stabbed one of the demon's in the area where the heart was supposed to be.

She started running, hitting them. "Kal, start gathering them, and get out."

Clark nodded, pushing Lily toward the door, flanking them as he looked over the group of quinquagenarians that were doomed to an eternal torment. He jumped, his fist compacting with the roof of the building, as Buffy jumped down to the bottom floor.

He hated to leave them, but Clark was sure they'd rather be dead physically than in spirit.

He ran to the rotted, iron gates that were closed and said, "move back."

He grasped the gate at the bottom, lifting it with all his strength, as the human's crawled under him. He moved under the gate, running toward the portal that was liquified and pushed the various people through. "Get them out of here," he told Lily, as he turned and waited for the Slayer to come running.

She did a few minute later, her hands grasping the bottom of the iron gate. Clark grabbed it two, holding it as she was tackled from behind. As she slid through, Clark quickly let go. The gate stabbed Ken through the legs. He handed Buffy his unused club, and she smirked, before bringing it down on his head.

They ran toward the barrier, which was closing, and Buffy said, "you go, I'm the one they want."

Clark smirked, grabbed her by the wrist, and _jumped_, the portal closing as they narrowly escaped.

"Buffy, huh?" he asked. She smiled, "yeah, Clark."

Clark sighed, taking the ring from his pocket. "Here, keep this safe for me, will you?"

She took it and said, "yeah, you leaving?"

"I'm going home."

"Me too," Buffy said, which seemed to be the general agreement.

Clark smiled, "it was great to meet you, Buffy. If you need anything," he said, handing her a slip of paper. Buffy smiled waterly and said, "thanks, you too."

A second later, Clark was gone.

She reached the door to her home on Revello with a sudden panic attack. She eyed the door-knocker, hesitatingly grasping it as she knocked thrice.

As she entered, she heard a strange voice say, "well done, Child of Prophecy, you have well-served my son."

"Hi mom," she said as the woman grasped her in her arms. It felt good to be home.

_End_


End file.
